1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to video frame interpolation, and more specifically to combining results of multiple motion compensated interpolations in order to produce smooth motion in interpolated frames.
2. Background of Invention
Motion compensation frame interpolation is an important research field, with many applications such as video compression, video format conversion, special effects production, etc. Prior art frame interpolation relies on motion estimation, and therefore its performance is data dependant. Although certain methods of motion estimation work acceptably well with certain data conditions, no single prior art technique for motion estimation performs appropriately for all data types under all conditions. Different values for an interpolated frame between two existing frames can be computed, each of which may be more or less appropriate for the specific case.
What is needed are methods, systems and computer program products that generate multiple motion compensated interpolated frames, and robustly fuse the results into a single, output interpolated frame of a higher quality than could be achieved by any single technique alone.